Dry-cleaning washer



B. LINDBERG DRY 'CLEANING WASHER Filed Feb. 15, 1929 oceooc 0 ca uooecoo ,Ziz M277 fo r, W 1

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July 16, 1929.

Patented July 16, 1929.

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srArEs rarer OFFICE.

BERNHARD LINDBERG, or CHICAGO, rLLINoIs.

nnY-onEAnrNe WASHER.

Application filed February 13, 1929. Serial No. 339,518.

escaping, the door opening in the latter has usually been, placed well up toward the top so that the lower margin thereof lies a considerable distance above a horizontal plane containing the 'axis of rotation of the cylinder. There are several objections tothis arrangement. Since the door opening in the casing is high up, it is diflicult for an at tendant to reach into and across the interior of the cylinder. Furthermore, it is customary to place in the cylinder a temporary partition extending diametrically across the same, when the clothing is in a condition. to be removed; the cylinder being then rotated a half turn to, bring the clothing to the upper side of the partition.' Since this partition extends diametrically across the cylinder, and the lower edge or rim of the door opening in the casing is at a considerable distance above a horizontal plane contaming such axis, the partition must stand at a considerable angle when the outer edge is at approximately the level of the bottom of the door opening in the casing. Consequently the heavy saturated clothing must be dragged up an incline to remove the same from the cylinder.

The object of the present invention is to produce asimple and novel construction that will constitute in effect a casing having a door opening that is .high up during the cleaning operation, whereas it is .at a low level at the time the work is placed in or removed from the cylinder. 0

A further object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel cylinder construction, whereby the partition, when in use, willbe locked in place by the cylinder doors and will be automatically unfastened upon the opening of one of thecylinder doors.

The various features of novelty whereby my. invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in" the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, referienee may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure '1 is a front view of the machine arranged in accordance with the present invention, the safety door being openand onehalf of the main door on the casing being broken away; Fig. 2 is a section taken ap proximately on line 22 of Fig. 1, all of.

the doors of the machine being closed; Fig. 3 is a view similar'to Fig. 2, showing the casing doors and the doors on one side of the cylinder open and the transverse partition in place; and Fig. 4: is a section on an enlarged scale, taken on line H of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, 1 represents the stationary casing and 2 a cylinder rotatably supported in the casing; these being of any desired size and being of any usual or suitable construction except as hereinafter pointed out.

In what may be termed the front side of the casing is a rectangular door opening 3 whose lower edge is about level with the horizontal axis'of rotation of the cylinder and the upper edge of which is near the top of the casing; the door opening extending from one end of the casing to the other. Easy access to the interior of the cylinder is afforded by this opening, when uncovered. However, door openings extending as low as this have not heretofore been used because of the necessity of preventing the cleaning fluids from splashing out through the door opening.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a sliding door for the opening in the casing; this door fitting tightly along the lower and the end edges, when closed; thus sealing the door opening and insuring against the escape of the cleaning fluids past the same." I

It is necessary, or at least common, to provide 'asings of this kind with hinged safety doors that will swing open when there is a predetermined pressure in the casing. The. sliding door and the swinging door may conveniently be associated with the same door opening. I have therefore shown a slidingdoor 4 which, when moved down into its working position, leaves the upper portion of the door opening uncovered; a

swinging door 5 being hinged along the upper edge of the door openin and being adapted to swing down and slightly over; lap the sliding door when both are in their closed positions as indicated in Fig. 2. The swinging door has on the underside a rib or ledge 6 that may conveniently be a small angle iron riveted or otherwise. fastened in place; this rib 01' ledge abutting against the upper edge of.thesliding door, when both doors are closed, and preventing the sliding door from being dpushed up until the swinging door is opene The sliding door is fixed at its ends to long arc-shaped rackbars 7 the angular length of the bars being much greater than the angular width of the door. These bars engage suitable tracks or guides extending .around the interior of the casing. In the arrangement shown, as will best be seen from Fig. 4, these tracks or guides may each consist of a curved bar 8 fixed to the interior of the wall of the casing and abutting against the adjacent edge of the sliding door as well as the adjacent edge of the corresponding curved rack. The thickness of the bar 8 is equal to the combined thicknesses of the sliding door and" of the curved rack. Lying against the inner face of the bar 8 *is a curved plate 9 widerthan the bar so as to extend past and engage with the adjacent\ rack. The sliding door may there-- fore be said to fit into curved grooves at its two ends, whereby it is pressed againstathe overlying wall of the casing and forms therewith a seal that will prevent the escape of liquids past the end edges of the door. On the inner side of the casing, just below the door opening is an upwardly facing trough 10 in the bottomof which is a packing 10 of any suitable material, conveniently asbestos. i

D In order to ope'ratethe sliding door, there is provided a long shaft 11 extending lengthwise through the casing near the upper edge of the door opening. On one end of the shaft is a handwheel 12 by means of which it may be turned. Fixed to the shaft are toothed wheels or pinions 13, one engaging with each of the curved racks. It will be seen that by turning the handwheel in one direction, the sliding door being open, the door will be gradually moved down until its lower edge is seated tightly against the packing in the trough 10 and forms a seal to prevent the escape of fluids past the bottom edge of the doorl This is the position of the door while the work is in the cylinder and the cylinder is being revolved to clean the work; the swinging door having subsequently been brought into the position illustrated in Fig. 2 to prevent the sliding door from being accidentally pushed up.

When access to the interior of the cylinder is desired, the safety door is first swung up into the position shown in Fig. 3, and then the sliding door is operated through the handwheel until it has been carried clear of the door opening into the position shown in Fig. 3. IN hen both doors are open, a section equal in area to aproximately one-fourth of the surface of the cylinder, and whose lower edges is at about the same height as the axis of the cylinder has, in effect, been removed. In other words, work may easily be placed into or removed from a cylinder or any portion of the interior of the cylinder may readily be reached for any other pur ose.

P The cylinder may conveniently be of the type shown in Patent 1,598,355 dated August 31, 1926, two doorr openings 14; being provided at diametrically opposite points in the cylinder. Each door opening in the cylinder is closed by means of two doors, a wide upper door15, and a narrow lower'door 16. When the cylinder is stopped in such an angular position that the lower edge of a door opening therein registers with the lower edge of the door opening in the casing, the narrow door 16 may be swung open and serve as an unloadingshelf to prevent the work from dropping down between the cylinder and the casing. The narrow doors are hinged to heavy frame members or sills 17 In accordance with one feature of my invention, I provide means for supporting and holding a removable partition 18 on the frame members or sills 17. In the arrangement shown, the partition has on opposite sides, a short distance from the longedges, two cleats 19. When the partition is placed in the cylinder with one side overlying the. opposite sill, the two cleats engage -with the inner sides or faces of the sills and prevent movement of the partition in its own plane. Furthermore I make the contour of the inner side of each of the narrow doors 16 such that when these doors are closed portions thereof will overlie the adjacent margins of the partition if the latter' has been. placed in the cylinder. In other words, the narrow doors serve as locking dogs to secure the partition in place. IVhen one set of doors in the cylinder is open, as shown in Fig. 3, the partition may be inserted, its inner edge entering a groove or channel between the narrow door and its sill on the rear side of the cylinder. Therefore the partition will be supported at the rear side of the cylinder while its front'marginal portion is'resting on the sill 17 at the front of the cylinder. Therefore .the partition will remain in place until the open doors have been closed. r

The doors 16 are provided with suitable catches 20, conveniently arranged as in the aforesaid Patent 1,598,355, so that they may be securely locked in their closed positions.

It will be seen that when the partition is in place and the cylinder is stopped with a lower edge of oneof its door openings at about the level of the lower edge of the opening in the door casing, the partition will be substantially horizontal when the doors in the casing and the front doors in the cylinder are opened. In other words, in removing the work it is simply drawn forward along a horizontal supporting surface instead of up an incline as has heretofore been the case.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a simple and novel construction and arrangement that will permit the machine to be operated without danger of having the cleaning fluidssplash out of the casing; without making the tasks of the operators in introducing or removing clothing or in gaining access to the interior of the cylinder for other purposes, diflicult or inconvenient; and without requiring the appli cation of any special fastening means to hold in place the transverse partition, if one is to be used, but causing the partition to be automatically locked in place when the cylinder doors are closed.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a machine of the character described, a casing, a horizontal cylinder rotatable in the casing, a door in the cylinder, said casing having a door opening whose ,lower end is at about. the level of the axis of rotation of the cylinder, a sliding door for said opening, said casing having grooves into which the bottom and sides of the sliding door fit with a sufficient degree of tightness to form a, seal when the sliding door is at the lower limit of its movement, and means to operate said sliding'door.

2. In a machine of the character described, a casing, a horizontal cylinder rotatable in the casing, a door in the cylinder, said casing having a door opening whose lower end is at about the level of the axis of rotation "of the cylinder, a sliding door for said opening'of less height than the door opening, said casing having grooves into which the bottom and sides of thesliding door fit with a suiiicient degree of tightness to form a seal when the sliding door is at the lower limit of its movement, means to operate said sliding door, and a door hinged to the casing at the top of the door opening, said door being wide enough to form with the sliding door a complete closure for said door opening.

3.. In a machine of the' character de-' scribed, a casing, a horizontal cylinder re.- tatable 1n the casing, sald casing having a ;door opening whose lower end is at about the level of the axis of rotation of the cyl inder, a sliding door on the inside of the casing to close the lower portion of the opening, means for moving the sliding door from its closing position to an upper position clear of the door opening, means on-the walls of the casing cooperating with said sliding door to form a seal along the end and bottom edges of the door when the latter is lowered, and a swinging door hinged to the easing at the top of the door opening and having a width suflicient to form with the sliding door a complete closure for the door opening.

4. In a machine of the character described, a casing, a horizontal cylinder rotatable in the casing, said casing having a door opening whose lower end is at about the level of the axis of rotation of the cylinder, a sliding door on the inside of the casing to close the lower portion of the opening, means for moving the sliding door from its closing position to an upper position clear of the door opening, means on the walls of the casihg cooperating with said sliding door to form a seal along the end and bottom edges of the door when the latter is lowered, a swinging door hinged to the casing at the top of the door opening and having a width sufiicient to form with the sliding door a complete closure for the door opening, and a shoulder on the underside of the swinging door in position to engage with the upper edge of the sliding door, when both doors are closed, to prevent the sliding door from being moved up until the swinging door is opened.

5. In a machine of the character described, a casing, a horizontal cylinder rotatable in said casing, said cylinder having a door opening the bottom of which is at about the level of the axis of rotation of the cylinder, two curved guides extending on the inside of the casing along the ends of the door opening and for a considerable distance beyond the top of the opening, a long curved rack bar mounted in each guide, a door extending between and secured to the lower ends of the rack bars and having a height less than the height of the door opening, a guide on the inside of the casing in a position to receive the lower edge of the said door when it is lowered to close the lower portion of the door opening, said guides and the door being constructed and arranged to form a seal along the side and bottom edges of the door when the latter is closed, an operating shaft extending lengthwise through the casing in the vicinity of said curved guides, and pinions on said shaft meshing with said rack bars.

6. In a machine of the character described, a horizontal rotatable cylinder having diametrically opposed door openings, doors for said openings, a detachable partition adapted to extend diametrically across the interior of the cylinder, and means on the casing cooperating with the doors to cause marginal portions at the sides of the partition to be held between said means and said doors when the doors are closed.

7. In a machine of the character described, a cylinder having diametrically 0pposed door openings, sills for the door openings, a detachable partition adapted to be inserted in the cylinder through one of the doornopenings and rest on said sills, and doors for said openings having shoulders in position to overlie said partition When the door is closed and thus hold the partition on said sills.

cation.

BERNHARD LINDBERG. 

